(My friend Mark makes the point that biblical tithes are _eaten_….)

A response of mine on a newsgroup:

Some more detail to factor into this discussion:

1. The first mention of a tithe (Gen. 14:17-20) has Abram giving a tithe of the spoils of war – presumably, not all edible.

2. If the distance to a place for a sacrificial meal is too great, tithes can be sold for money, and money substituted for edible tithes (Deut. 14:24-26).

3. (A point I make in another post): monetary _offerings_ were often tendered by Jews in both the Old and New Testaments. (Just one example: the half-shekel for the sanctuary Exodus 30:14-16). And of course the famous story of the widow’s mite.

You can distinguish ‘tithes’ from ‘offerings’ if you like – but my hunch is that apart from a genuine quest to clarify a matter of biblical scholarship, there may be another agenda driving this debate :-)…

BTW, Mark, I think I would agree that hard-earned money poured into self-serving, ineffective religious institutions may be a waste, but what guidance would you give to someone who asked: ‘I want to serve others with a regular part of my income: how should I do that?’

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Shalom!

Rowland Croucher